Patents by Inventor Richard I. Nafziger

Richard I. Nafziger has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5638415
    Abstract: A probe delivery system for delivering a bendable probe into a tube bundle is provided. The system uses an elongated guide which is insertable into the tube bundle via the access opening. The guide has a channel for directing the probe therealong and several pivotable port devices spaced along the length of the guide, operable to selectively direct the probe either farther along the guide, or outwardly and away from the guide and into the tube bundle. Actuators operate the port devices, and may be pneumatic, for example. A base is mountable on the shell which surrounds the tube bundle, and a servomotor is mounted on the base to move the guide in and out of the tube bundle. A rotation drive servomotor preferably is mounted on the base for rotating the guide about its central axis. Preferably, the system includes a spool drive for the probe itself, having a rotatable substantially circular spool around which the probe may be wound for feeding into and retracting from the tube bundle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 10, 1997
    Inventors: Mark W. Nafziger, Richard I. Nafziger